Herakles no Eikou (Glory of Herakles/Hercules) comes out in Japan on the 22nd, and Nintendo and Paon are taking the traditional RPG-promotion tactic of displaying some gorgeous cinematics. We tend to enjoy the anime-style promo scenes more than the high-res CG stuff that Square Enix tends to use, so we were very pleased to watch the animated half of this trailer, which we suspect is the opening scene of the game. It's enjoyable both on its own and as a look at a parallel universe in which Greek mythology developed in Japan.
Though it's an obvious step down in visual fidelity from the high-quality animation, the gameplay footage that follows looks pretty spectacular as well, and enough of the feeling carries over from the intro to temporarily convince us that RPGs can be exciting. We'd love for this to be the first Herakles no Eikou game to escape Japan.
Ninja-loving RPG gamers, take note: Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2, a sequel to the game released in North Amerca last October, is heading to Nintendo's handheld. D3 and Tomy announced the title today, which Siliconera rationally speculates is a localization of Naruto RPG 2: Chidori vs. Rasengan.
Even so, the North American version will have the added feature of online play via Wi-Fi. This will involve some type of multiplayer battling, which will most likely be turn-based. Path of the Ninja 2 will also include thirty playable characters from the anime and manga.
Naruto fans can expect to get their RPG on again this September.
Before we go into fits induced by the awesome fact that Super Dodgeball Brawlers is releasing in a mere two weeks, we figured that the least we could do is spread some love for an aspect of the original game that's often ignored -- its music.
Of course, the best thing to do with great video game music is remix it, and The Bad Dudes have done just that. Taking Kazuo Sawa's score from the original Super Dodge Ball (NES) and arranging it with some ethnic flavor (based on the different teams' countries of origin) makes for a great combination. Don't just take out word for it, though -- give it a listen or download the zip file over at No Balls, No Glory.
Aksys also plans to use this EP to promote the upcoming DS remake, which is set to hit American stores on May 27th.
Infinite Line, the rumored Platinum Games sci-fi RPG published by Sega, is totally a real game and not something made up by jerks to hurt us. These Famitsu scans reveal the Platinum Games/Nudemaker (Steel Battalion) co-production as pretty much what we heard, only awesome.
You'll have over 150 ship parts from which you can build your ship, and over 200 crew members. Infinite Line uses a sort of Final Fantasy-like active-time system, in which each character has an individual wait between turns, but those count down in real time. The interesting wrinkle with Infinite Line's system is that a full ATB gauge enables more options.
Have you tried the demo for My Word Coach (available via the Wii's Nintendo Channel) and enjoyed it? If so, you might be looking to pick it up cheaply, thereby sparing your wallet and improving your vocabulary in one fell swoop. Currently, then, you can head on over to Amazon and get the game for the hard-to-resist price of $9.99.
Like most Amazon sales (excluding the Deal of the Days, of course), this one is without rhyme or reason, so we can't tell you how long it will last.
As medical science suggests that a steady regime of Pringles, pizza, and Coca-Cola is not a suitable diet (pfft!), this blogger is looking forward to learning healthier recipes from Cooking Navi (or, as it's known in PAL regions, Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?). After all, I'd quite like to live beyond forty, and my current repertoire in the kitchen (omelettes, toast, cereal) may prove an obstacle to that aim.
These first nine screens of the localized western version are all in French (which feels appropriate, given that country's culinary reputation), but it's not hard to see that this non-game caters to a range of skill levels -- for example, I actually know what Spaghetti Carbonara is! There'll be 200 recipes in total, with each informing users of the calorie count and preparation time. Hit up our gallery for more delicious screens.
We know many of you enjoy the Bleach. Whether it's the anime, manga, or very capable fighting game on the DS (and, we suppose, on some smaller level, the cleaning product), you folks are fans. In fact, you all just might convert us!
And with the Japanese sequel finally making its way to North America, we're pretty close to taking the plunge and checking out what you all have been going on about. In the meantime, we'll have to settle for the new Bleach: Dark Souls screens in our gallery. Give them a look yourself, then tell us why we need to be as excited about this game as you are!
In what seems like a very appropriate promotion, Namco Bandai will offer a specially-labeled wine to tie in with 99 no Namida, the game featuring short stories designed to elicit tears. Go ahead and start crying now unless you'll be in Tokyo between June 5 (the game's release date) and June 30, because the 99 no Namida wine will only be available in the Vinoteca wine bar located in the Tokyo Midtown area.
Banamco also announced that soccer star Naohiro Takahara had contributed a story to the game based on his own experiences. Short story writer Yasushi Akimoto also revealed that he had written one of the game's tales. Is this the first original short fiction anthology video game?
Level 5's Inazuma Eleven looks utterly fantastic. Combining a sports title with RPG themes, that alone was enough to sell us on the game. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that Level-5 is developing it. Looks like Japan will find out how awesome Inazuma Eleven is this August.
For those of you who're as intrigued by this title as we are, know there is some new media around the net. First up, Game Watch has some lovely screens for you to check out. After that, get some full-motion excitement from the extended trailer up at GameSpot Japan. After that, we'd suggest changing your pants. We had to.
Read - Inazuma Eleven trailer at GameSpot Japan
Read - Inazuma Eleven screens at Game Watch
Famitsu has revealed the next Castlevania game for the DS, confirming recent speculation over Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Judging by the screens in the scan above, those mysterious shots from last month were the real thing. The magazine also divulges the involvement of Koji Igarashi, producer on Portrait of Ruin and Dawn of Sorrow. As in those games, there will be support for two players, though the exact nature of the multiplayer (local play? WFC?) remains a miserable little pile of secrets.
And that's it for now! Leap past the break, whip in hand, to see another snippet of a scan.
Lately, there's been a lot of discussion over whether or not Nintendo is planning a redesign of the wildly successful DS Lite. The rumors surfaced, and were drowned in a wave of denials ... but those denials were suspiciously similar to the things we heard when Nintendo was busily denying the move from Phat to Lite prior to the launch of the newer model.
Nintendo redesigns things, especially when it comes to their handhelds. They love to launch the new model, the smaller, better design, and it seems likely that they'll continue that cycle with the DS. But will we see it this year? That's the question on the table today, and we'll look at both possibilities. After that, it's up to you to decide whether or not Nintendo will announce a new DS this year.
Ever since MySims Kingdom was revealed, we've been patiently awaiting details regarding the title. Now, we've got a bit more to go on, as EA lets us know what this game is all about. It is "a story of adventure, discovery and exploration to help King Roland and his subjects revitalize the Kingdom." Okay, sounds simple enough.
The DS version of this game, specifically, will offer several different mini-games and very much resembles Animal Crossing. EA's Rod Humble (is that not an awesome name?), whom heads up The Sims division, said MySims Kingdom will contain "rewarding quests, building houses, bridges or even making contraptions powered by electricity or water." It sounds like the title will have a lot of customization options, however we wonder if it won't be the simple little game that EA promised it would be back at launch. Is this not getting to be a bit too big for a casual title?
Be sure to hit up our gallery below for first screens from the game.
If you already read Japanese really well, that is -- because Touch de Nihao is a Chinese language-learning program for Japan.
Touch de Nihao is a utility program designed to help Japanese people get around in Chinese (Mandarin, we assume). It features a translation function that translates words written on the screen, as well as subway maps of Shanghai and Beijing.
The screenshots seem to show some sort of lessons, as well, or a dictionary organized by subject. The screen here, with the, uh, thing enjoying a beverage, is titled Nomimono (drinks) -- indicating some kind of subject page.
We probably won't see an English-Chinese version of Touch de Nihao, but we'd like to. We're fans of DS language learning.
Posted May 14th 2008 8:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
Sega's Touch Darts was released in Europe last summer, but Sega didn't make any sign of releasing it in the U.S. Agetec has stepped in and picked up the publishing rights for the game, planning to release it next month. Agetec really knows how to spot easy localization jobs -- first LOL, and now this, which was already in English.
Touch Darts is exactly what it sounds like: darts, played on the touchscreen. It is not a game about poking your fingers, although that would be totally hilarious and weird. But despite just being a game about regular darts, it sounds feature-rich: it includes four modes: tournament, challenge, quickplay, and multiplayer, with four-player single-card gameplay. Challenge mode is dart-tossing minigames that provide variations on the basic rules of darts.
We're pretty sure they won't, but we'd be amused if Agetec planned to release the dart stylus along with the game.
One of the best things about the DS is not only does it have an incredibly large library of amazing games, but it also has several cool training titles. Things such as Cooking Navi, Let's Yoga and even Nintendo's Brain Age games, as well as the upcoming English of the Dead all offer users something other than a time sink. They offer real tips for changing or improving one's life.
That got us thinking about how many of you out there have improved your own life through these kind of self-help titles. Have you found your brain power increased through regular Brain Age use? Have you improved your vision with Flash Focus? What training titles have you used to enhance your life and how has it improved?
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Ninja-loving RPG gamers, take note: Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2, a 
Before we go into fits induced by the awesome fact that 
Have you tried the 
As medical science suggests that a steady regime of Pringles, pizza, and Coca-Cola is not a suitable diet (pfft!), this blogger is looking forward to learning healthier recipes from 
In what seems like a very appropriate promotion, 
Level 5's 
Ever since 
If you already read Japanese really well, that is -- because Touch de Nihao is a Chinese language-learning program for Japan.
Sega's 
